Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector's Edition DVD Set Review

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Title: Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition

Region: One

Genre: Sci-Fi Action Thriller

Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raul Bova, and Ewen Bremner

Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson

Based On A Story By: Paul W.S. Anderson, Dan O’Bannon, and Ronald Shusett

Based On Characters Created By Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Jim Thomas and John Thomas

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Theatrical Version Feature length: 101minutes

The Unrated Edition: 108 minutes

Extras: Extended Version Of Film Never Shown In Theaters, Optional Added Footage Marker, Audio Commentary By Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Actors Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan, Audio Commentary With Visual Effects Supervisor John Bruno and Creature Effects Designers/Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodrufff, Jr., Deleted Scenes, Documentaries, Galleries, Trailers

Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and French and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Single Size Two-Disc Keep Case

Theatrical Version Chapter Stops: 28

The Unrated Edition: 32

Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and Dolby Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Theatrical Version MPAA Rating: PG-13

The Unrated Edition MPAA Rating: Not Applicable

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

In 2003 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment set the benchmark for all collective sci-fi franchise DVD box sets to follow with the release of the “Alien Quadrilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition 9-Disc Box Set.” The set contained the theatrical and Director’s cut of “Alien” as well as theatrical and special editions of “Aliens”, “Alien 3”, and “Alien Resurrection” as well as an exclusive bonus DVD that is available only within the “Alien Quadrilogy” box set and not within the separate two-disc “Collector’s Editions” that were released on DVD a month after the release of the box set. Since then the only other studio sci-fi DVD box set franchise to meet Fox’s benchmark was Warner Home Video’s “The Ultimate Matrix Collection.” No other studio sci-fi franchises on DVD whether they be from Fox or another distributor has matched that benchmark though I’m sure we will see more in the future. In addition to the four “Alien” feature films Fox released a two-disc Collector’s Edition of “Predator” and a special edition two-disc Special Edition of “Predator 2.” Now keep in mind that all six of these films were released on DVD before primarily as standard DVD releases with the exception of “Alien: Twentieth Anniversary Edition” and “Aliens: Special Edition,” which were released in 1999 separately or as a part of “The Alien Legacy DVD Box Set.” In the case of the “Alien” films, true fans would definitely want to keep their “Alien Legacy” box sets as well as their “Alien Quadrilogy” box sets because there are features in the “Alien Legacy” that were not carried over to the “Alien Quadrilogy.” This is a policy that many studios have followed with releases as diverse as New Line’s “The Lord Of The Rings” DVD sets and the two releases of “Gladiator” from DreamWorks.

There are extra features on the original separate DVD releases of the “Matrix” films that are not on “The Ultimate Matrix Collection” either. So my point is that this seems to be a standard practice. In keeping with the manner Fox has released the Alien films as well as some other popular DVD releases, “Alien Vs. Predator: Widescreen” was released earlier this year with a more expansive Collector’s Edition to be released on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 and while not quite full of the bells and whistles some associate especially with the “Alien Quadrilogy” DVD box set, “Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition” is a nice addition with content that matches well with the “Alien” DVDs while providing the bridge between “Predator 2” and the original “Alien” creating a larger franchise that includes not just the films alone but aesthetically even the content overall through the various DVD releases matches. In fact I found the content that supports both versions of the film in Fox’s “Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition” to be at times more compelling than the movie itself. However if you are a super fan of the film and the entire series for both characters in general you will definitely want to keep your original DVD because there are extra value materials on that disc that are not on the Unrated Collector’s Edition. The features not found on the Unrated Collector’s Edition are a featurette, the AVP Cover Gallery and the DVD-ROM Content containing the First Edition AVP comic book, the AVP background study, and what was at the time a preview for the AVP graphic novel.

After a satellite detects a strange heat signature at an abandoned whaling station in Antarctica where no human life has even ventured to since 1904, Robotics visionary Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) creates a team of the best experts to explore a pyramid discovered 200 feet under the ice that has elements indicative of three different ancient world cultures. What they fail to realize until it is too late is that this is a trap so the Predators can perform a right of passage by hunting the most dangerous creature in the galaxy, the Alien.

“Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition” presents the film on DVD-Video in the original anamorphic enhanced (2.35:1) aspect ratio that preserves the manner in which the film was exhibited in theaters as close as possible for home video users. The picture quality seems to be a bit sharper than the previous release in part because the majority of the extra value materials included are now on a second disc. While previous DVD releases of the “Alien” films were all THX Certified, “Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition” is not THX Certified, but it does feature DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound for both the theatrical and unrated versions. I truly prefer the enhanced range and more aggressive quality DTS sound gives the viewer and the new Unrated Collector’s Edition does not disappoint while seamlessly providing viewers the ability to watch either version of the film with 5.1 Digital Surround Sound capability. There are also French and Spanish Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks as well as English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto the first disc as options.

The two feature length audio commentary tracks found on the original DVD release are included on the Unrated Collector’s Edition as well. The first features Writer and Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Actors Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan while the second feature audio commentary track has Visual Effects Supervisor John Bruno and Creature Effects Designers/Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodrufff, Jr. These commentaries are only accessible for the theatrical version of the film and not the Unrated Collector’s Edition. Paul W.S. Anderson is a fan of the Alien and Predator series and has established himself not only as a genre filmmaker, but perhaps the only Director to ever produce feature films based on video game franchises that were actually entertaining with the original “Mortal Kombat” and “Resident Evil” movies to his credit and if anyone has any doubts, just rent a few DVD-Videos based on games and then watch the above mentioned films Anderson directed and even if you hate them all, I think it would be hard to argue that Anderson’s adaptations are not the best of the bunch. I think he genuinely has an interest in these projects and understands the differences between the medias whether it is adapting a popular video game franchise or bringing two sci-fi icons together in such a way that it truly tries to pay homage to both signature characters while remaining true in some manner to the original comic book that first brought them together too. Anderson frequently will point out exact references in the film that are meant either to directly allude to something from the respective Predator and Alien films even if it is a certain visual composition or camera shot and he also points out exactly where elements from the film were taken directly from the original Dark Horse Comics series. The fan in me only wishes that Anderson had stuck with the interesting design of the interior of the Predator ship as seen in “Predator 2” because it looked very interesting and clearly not like something we can imagine humans building, but the interior of the Predator ship in this film looks more or less typical of the genre. The exterior look of the Predator ships in “Alien Vs. Predator” is also different from the ones seen in the first two films. There is no explanation for the change given in either commentary track. Sanaa Lathan has a humorous comment regarding the face huggers in “Alien Vs. Predator” where she described the interface where the face hugger would connect to the host as looking like a “flying vagina” and well… I think she’s right.

The technical commentary track is very informative and also somewhat humorous and if one does not walk away with anything from listening to the second commentary, I would hope they at least would gain an appreciation for the seamless mix of conventional and computer generated effects used in the film because I personally believe very strongly that the work done by artists like John Bruno, Alec Gillis, and Tom Woodrufff, Jr. as well as many others like Stan Winston Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, and the great Ray Harryhausen are extremely important because there is something about the human personality that goes into creating characters and settings that I think enhances digital effects does not match and I honestly fear sometimes that these techniques will become lost unless they are passed down to other aspiring artists with talent in a mentor to apprentice sort of manner.

With eight minutes of footage reedited into the film for the Unrated Edition, fans may be a little disappointed that not much of the new information really enhances the battle sequences between the two extraterrestrial titans nor does it possibly add some sort of possible definitive proof that somehow as a result of this encounter the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from the “Alien” films would have enough information to accurately determine the location of such a species as what the crew of the ill-fated Nostromo will discover 150 years after the events of “Alien Vs. Predator.” I think a firmer connection could have been established that would have enhanced both franchises while still leaving room for further possible “Alien Vs. Predator” films in the future. There is an optional icon that will appear that enables the viewer to know exactly what has been added, but there seems to be extended dialogue in this new version that is not accounted for regardless. If you choose to watch the extended version, the menus take on the image of the sacrificial chamber within the pyramid while for the theatrical version, we get another “Predator” influenced look at the choices, but what it is we are supposed to be seeing is a mystery to me. These animated opening menus for both discs are easy to navigate and lead to standard interactive still frame menus and all are easy to navigate. The opening image on disc two is the abandoned arctic whaling station as seen the film. The six scenes added for the Unrated Edition can also be viewed individually or through a “Play All” feature (10:54) if one chooses to see the theatrical version instead. Please note that in viewing the scenes separately from the feature, only Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is available. The DTS option is only open if you choose to watch the scenes incorporated into the film for the unrated version.

The second disc is divided into separate headings covering the pre-production, production, post-production, licensing the franchise, and marketing. The first documentary entitled “AVP: The Beginning” features a branching video option for deeper behind-the-scenes materials (6:59) as well as storyboards and concept art. The length of this installment is approximately 26 minutes and the branching features can also be viewed separately which I prefer because I do not like to have anything interrupt what is going on while I’m screening something for review. In addition to Paul W.S. Anderson’s lengthy discussion of the eight year trip it took for him to get his vision of “Alien Vs. Predator” to the big screen we gets lots of interesting demonstrations for the various animatronics featured in the film to bring the creatures life, including the subtle differences made to both the Aliens and the Predators in terms of their behavior as well as physicality to make them visually interesting. This is slightly off topic, but for anyone who is interested, there is an excellent hardcover book by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. entitled “AVP: Alien Vs. Predator: The Creature Effects Of ADI” that gives readers a hardcopy look deep into the creative processes engineered to bring this eagerly awaited big screen clash to life. This book might be difficult to find. Were it not for my brother visiting The Virgin Mega Store Time Square I would not have even known of it’s existence. The book can be ordered online at www.designstudiopress.com and the book’s ISBN number is 0-9726676-6-0 in case consumers prefer to shop around to see if they can get a better price or purchase it at a store closer to them. The US suggested retail price is $29.95. Please note that prices may be different at different outlets. I’ve had this book for over a year already so I’m not sure what the price might be now if it is different. I think book is definitely worth a look if you are a fan or even aspire to learn more about how artists like Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. and their creative teams bring imaginary creatures to life.

Under the production heading is an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary (59:10) as well as another branching option covering the miniature whaling station (6:52), face huggers and eggs (14:51), and trouble at the mouth of the tunnel (3:45). Post-Production choices include a look at the visual effects for the film (30:10), and 3 more deleted scenes with optional commentary by Director Paul W.S. Anderson and Actor Lance Henriksen that that can be viewed individually or through a “Play All” feature (1:56). Under Licensing The Franchise is a featurette (11:55) covering the impact Dark Horse Comics had with the developing of the “Alien”, “Predator”, and “Alien Vs. Predator” comic and graphic novel series. Since these comics tend to be miniseries of 4 issues or so, there is no surprise that elements were easy to adapt for the big screen not only for “Alien Vs. Predator,” but for “Predator 2” as well. “Monster Miniatures By Todd McFarlane” (14:06) gives viewers a glimpse into how the detailed franchise figures are created as well as McFarlane’s philosophy behind the production of the figures.

Finally under the heading “Marketing” is an HBO First Look Special (13:01), the theatrical teaser (: 56), a theatrical trailer (2:17) and another theatrical trailer (2:01) for Alien Vs. Predator. Trailers for Fox’s DVD releases of the “Alien Quadrilogy” (1:20), and “Planet Of The Apes: 35^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition” (: 43) wrap up the bonus materials on disc two.

A must-purchase for super-fans of the Predator and Alien franchises, “Alien Vs. Predator: The Unrated Collector’s Edition” will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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